1. The overall purpose of this project is to continue strengthening road safety on Squamish Nation reserve lands by raising awareness among all road users - pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers, with a focused effort in areas used most by     children, youth, families, and Elders. The goal is to reduce speeding and traffic-related incidents on the North Shore and in the Squamish Valley and to support safer roads within Sḵwx̱wú7mesh communities. To make this happen, this project includes two key activities: Installing 2 speed boards in critical areas (1 on the North Shore and 1 in Squamish Valley)
2. Developing a Community Awareness Raising Billboard Campaign (This project draws inspiration from Tsleil Waututh Nation that developed this type of campaign and saw significant positive results on road safety). 

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In 2024-2025, Squamish Nation's Public Safety Department made significant headway around road safety. This project, which was expanded to include additional generous supports from Vision Zero, led to the installation of speed boards and streetlights in critical areas on reserve, as well as traffic control and speed monitoring by our Community Safety Team (CST). In tandem to this work, Public Safety has deepened discussions with Translink and the City of North Vancouver around road safety with some quick start actions set to take place in 2026. 

Still, Public Safety continues to hear concerns from community members, particularly Elders families, parents, and daycare and school staff, about speeding and the related safety risks to road users. We also hear about road safety issues in our ongoing community engagements and at the Nation's regular People’s Assembly gatherings, and during Community Safety Team (CST) patrols.

The first major impact will come from installing two new speed boards, one on the North Shore and one in the Squamish Valley. Previous boards have already shown that drivers slow down when they see their speed displayed, and the new boards will extend that benefit to high-risk areas where concerns are most frequent. They will also allow Public Safety staff to gather consistent traffic data, giving a clearer picture of speeding trends and helping identify where further action may be needed.

The second component strengthens community safety through a Sḵwx̱wú7mesh-specific awareness campaign. The campaign will feature Sḵwx̱wú7mesh language and messages grounded in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh values to reinforce safe-driving expectations. Tsleil-Waututh Nation used a similar approach with positive results, and this campaign is expected to support safer travel for community members.

Together, these efforts support the goals set out in the Squamish Nation Strategic Plan(2026) to build safer, healthier communities and give the Nation stronger tools to address ongoing safety issues. The expected outcome is slower vehicle speeds, safer travel routes, and greater confidence among children, youth,families, and Elders who rely on these roads every day.

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